The Chase Is On

The Phillies are just three games out of first place in the National League East after winning for the sixth time in eight games on Tuesday night. They won behind Cole Hamels for a NL-leading ninth time, 7-3 over the visiting White Sox. The Sox couldn't do anything after the first inning against the talented lefty. Hamels gave up back-to-back homers to Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye but settled in for seven more shutout innings while Chase Utley was driving in four runs to propel the offense. Hamels whiffed eight Sox in the process of inching closer to a possible All-Star Game start while Utley is now tied for the NL lead in RBI with 52. It's a long way from a 4-11 start in the City of Brotherly Love.

• The Reds used the rope-a-dope to tire out Kelvim Escobar and then struck against the Angel bullpen to take a 5-3 decision in their series opener at Great American Ball Park. Escobar struck out 14 Redlegs through six innings but tired himself out in the process and Ken Griffey, who looked feeble against the starter, hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put his squad up for good. All in all the 14 K's were more indicative of the Reds offense in the win. Four of their five runs scored without a hit bringing them home while the Angels hit two homers but couldn't scratch out the late runs they needed to pull out a victory.
• John Maine made three bad pitches all night and that was all it took for the Dodgers to take their second straight from the Mets at Chavez Ravine. Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp and the pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo hit each of those poor offerings for home runs to provide the margin of victory. It was Kuo's second big league win, both have come vs. the Mets, and it came on the same night as his countrymate Chien-Ming Wang picked up a win. They are dancing in the streets of Taipei. The 4-1 loss was the eighth in nine games for the reeling Mets. Their lead in the East is down to two games over the Braves and three games over the surging Phillies. 
• You can't envy the Colorado Rockies. Cross-country road trips are tough, playing the Red Sox is tougher and facing a knuckleballer you've never seen before is downright unfair. Tim Wakefield handcuffed them all night and J.D. Drew hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the Sox a 2-1 win.
• There are plenty of nights when a three-hit shutout will be the best pitching performance in either league. Scott Olsen had the bad fortune to toss his while Justin Verlander was no-hitting the Brewers, however, so he'll have to settle for last spot in this recap and a hearty pat on the back from Fredi Gonzalez after beating the Indians 3-0.

(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)